There are men whose lives outlive their years because they choose to build for humanity rather than for themselves. Oronto Natei Douglas, popularly known as OND, one of Nigeria’s finest environmentalists, political activists and named among the world’s most influential writers and thinkers, was one of such rare Nigerians. Oronto transited to ancestorhood on April 9, 2015.
During Oronto’s funeral, countless tributes and orations pour in from all corners of the world. However, there is something deeply troubling about a society that gathers eloquently to bury its heroes, makes loud promises in moments of grief, and then quietly abandons both the promises and the legacies of the dead.
Eleven years after his transition, the memory of Oronto remains vivid in the hearts of those who knew him, worked with him, and benefited from his uncommon commitment to justice, education, and the advancement of society. Yet, beyond the glowing tributes and annual memorials, a more troubling reality now confronts us: many of Oronto’s greatest legacies are quietly dying.
For Oronto, education was not an afterthought or charity; it was civilization and central to his philosophy of development. He firmly believed that one of the surest pathways to human development, community transformation, and national progress was to build minds through access to knowledge and not monuments of ego. It was this conviction that inspired him to invest heavily in libraries, schools, books, and learning infrastructure across Nigeria, particularly in the Niger Delta.
Across several states, Oronto built and equipped libraries for public use. From the Chief Melford Okilo Library in Ogbia Town, to the Goodluck Jonathan Library in Okoroba, the Prof. Bruce Powell Library at the Federal University Otuoke, the Prof. C.T.I. Odu Library in Twon Brass, the Obafemi Awolowo Library in Irele-Ikole Ekiti, and others stretching to Delta, Ebonyi, Ogun, and Akwa Ibom States, his footprints in the educational sector remain extraordinary. These were carefully designed knowledge institutions intended to serve generations.
Perhaps the most symbolic of these interventions was his decision to convert his only personal building in Yenagoa into a public library in honour of Professor Ebiegberi Joe Alagoa, one of Nigeria’s foremost historians. In a country where public officials often convert public wealth into private estates, Oronto did the exact opposite.
That singular act captured the essence of Oronto’s life: sacrifice, vision, and commitment to public good and posterity. For me, this is one of the finest demonstrations of intellectual patriotism in contemporary Nigeria I have ever seen in my life.
The library was not an ordinary reading room. It was a modern knowledge hub equipped with laptops, desktop computers, e-readers, thousands of physical books, and tens of thousands of digital materials, including journals, videos, and over 60,000 e-books. It was a sanctuary for young minds, researchers, students, and members of the public seeking enlightenment.
Sadly, today, this once-thriving monument of learning is no longer functional.
The reason is painfully simple: there is no sustainable institutional support to keep it alive. This is the tragedy of our time. In a society where public resources are often wasted on vanity projects, institutions built by one man for the collective good are being left to decay. A dead library is a silent betrayal of the vision of the man who built it.
Even more heartbreaking is the fact that several of Oronto’s other educational legacies have also slipped into desolation. The Chief Melford Okilo Library in Ogbia Town and the E. K. Clark Preparatory School in Okoroba are among the noble projects now struggling under the weight of neglect.
A society that allows the legacies of its heroes to rot sends a dangerous message to the living: that sacrifice does not matter, that service is forgotten, and that public good has no protectors. This must not continue.
Government at all levels, especially the Bayelsa State Government, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and the interventionist agencies operating in the Niger Delta, must rise to the responsibility of preserving these monuments of knowledge. Reviving these libraries and educational institutions should not be seen as a favour to Oronto’s memory alone; it should be seen as an investment in the future of our children, our communities, and our region.
Well-meaning individuals, alumni associations, multinational corporations operating in the Niger Delta, and philanthropic organizations should also see this as a worthy cause. The cost of rehabilitating these centres of learning is insignificant compared to the long-term value they offer to society.
To the administration of Ogbia Local Government Area in particular, this clarion call should serve as a solemn reminder of the urgent responsibility to revive the Chief Melford Obiene Okilo Library built by Oronto Natei Douglas. Beyond its educational value, this library occupies a uniquely symbolic place in the history of our beloved and great Ogbia Kingdom, as it remains the only known public project within Ogbia Local Government Area specifically established to honour the memory and enduring legacy of our beloved father who at in Ogbia, His Excellency, Chief, Senator, Dr. Melford Obiene Okilo of blessed memory.
Allowing such a singular monument to decay and rot away would amount to an unfortunate erosion of our collective history and identity. Its restoration, therefore, is not merely a rehabilitation of infrastructure, but a sacred duty to preserve the name, memory, and contributions of one of Ogbia’s great sons and heroes for present and future generations.
Oronto Douglas gave his intellect, his resources, his voice, and ultimately his life to the struggle for a better Niger Delta and a more just Nigeria. The least society can do is ensure that the kids school project, libraries, and opportunities he built for others do not die with him.
In this regard, I will want to use this medium to call on the Bayelsa State Government to fulfil her promise of taking over the funding and management of the E.K Clark Preparatory School, which Oronto build for children in his native home of Okoroba, to ensure continuity of this noble educational intervention.
Equally deserving of urgent attention is the unfulfilled pledge by the Bayelsa State Government to award scholarships to Oronto’s two children — a promise made during his funeral rites but yet to materialize eleven years after. The scholarship for his children should not be treated as charity. It is a matter of honour, credibility, and respect for public word. Such commitments should not be allowed to disappear into the fog of official forgetfulness.
The Bayelsa State Government must be reminded that public promises are not funeral rhetoric. They are moral contracts with history. Indeed, the continued failure to fulfil this promise diminishes the moral authority of government pronouncements and weakens public trust in official commitments.
The Bayelsa State Government should, without any further delay, immediately institute fully funded scholarships for Oronto’s children up to the highest level of education they desire, in keeping with the original promise made before the people of Bayelsa and Nigerians.
Additionally, it will even be more beneficial to Baylesans and even a greater credit to the present administration of the Bayelsa State Government if all the libraries OND established in Bayelsa are taken over and rehabilitated for public use.
Last year, following the series of my memorial articles, the NDDC commendably honoured Oronto Douglas with a posthumous recognition. While that gesture was appreciated, honour must go beyond plaques and ceremonies. Memorial plaques and citations alone cannot adequately honour a man whose life was devoted to building futures. The most meaningful tribute to Oronto is to keep alive the institutions he built to empower others.
NDDC should therefore deepen that recognition by establishing a special scholarship scheme in Oronto Douglas’ name, beginning with support for his children and extending to brilliant but indigent students across the Niger Delta who embody the values of intellectual excellence, courage, and service that Oronto represented. That would be a living tribute. That would align with the very ideals Oronto fought for. That would transform remembrance into impact.
The NDDC must also seize this moment as an opportunity for strategic intervention by partnering with the governments of Bayelsa and other beneficiary states to rehabilitate and sustain the libraries established by Oronto Douglas across the region. At a time when the Niger Delta continues to grapple with youth restiveness, unemployment, social disillusionment, and the lingering scars of conflict, the restoration of these centres of learning can serve as a powerful instrument for peace building and community development.
Libraries are more than buildings filled with books; they are safe civic spaces where young people can access knowledge, develop skills, broaden their horizons, and redirect their energies toward productive and innovative pursuits. Reviving these institutions would not only preserve Oronto’s educational vision but would also complement broader regional efforts to reduce crime, foster social inclusion, promote literacy, and strengthen the intellectual foundation upon which lasting peace and sustainable development can be built in the Niger Delta.
The labour of our heroes past must be preserved not merely for sentiment, but as a national ethic. When governments protect and sustain the legacies of men like Oronto Douglas, they inspire future generations to embrace service, integrity, and sacrifice.
If those who build for society know that their efforts will outlive them and continue to serve humanity, more patriots will rise. But if society allows noble legacies to collapse into ruins, we discourage the very spirit of nation-building we desperately need.
This is why the revival of Oronto’s dying legacies is not just about memory; it is about values. It is about teaching our young people that greatness is not measured by wealth accumulated, but by impact sustained. It is about proving that in Nigeria, the works of visionaries can endure beyond their lifetimes. And above all, it is about ensuring that the light Oronto lit through education does not go out in our generation.
The time to act is now.
Let government, institutions, and good-spirited Nigerians come together to restore these fading monuments of knowledge, so that Oronto Douglas’ dream of advancing humanity through education can continue to live and breathe for the public good. For when we preserve the labour of our heroes past, we encourage others to walk the same noble path.
Engr (Chief) Ipigansi Okumo is the Chairman of the Ogbia Brotherhood Unity Branch Abuja & Northern Nigeria, and he works with Oronto Douglas for about two decades.